Invasion and revolution: France and Florence in 1494

In the fall of 1494, the king of France led a military expedition to Italy for the purpose of claiming his rights to the kingdom of Naples. The size and power of the army caught all Italy unprepared, and in the ensuing turmoil a number of governments within the Italian peninsula were permanently changed. The Florentine Republic found itself in an especially exposed situation in front of the advancing army because of its strategic position astride the peninsula and because its leader, Piero de' Medici, had guided Florence into declared opposition to the French king. The explosive encounter between the army and the relatively defenseless republic led to a revolution in which Piero de' Medici was removed from power on November 9, 1494. It is the intent of this study to examine the relationship between the invasion and the revolution with special interest in the leadership of the two men, King Charles VIII and Piero de' Medici. Previous accounts have relied too heavily upon biased witnesses such as Philippe de Commynes, and it is the object here to see both leaders in new perspectives and thereby to establish a better understanding of the causality of the invasion and revolution. In addition, the reaction to these events by contemporaries as well as later Florentine historians will be examined.